One Chance
by Trinity Everett
Summary: Michelle's given a do over, does she take it? Tony/Michelle, Spoilers for seasons 3-5. AU.


Title: One Chance

Fandom: 24

Characters: Michelle Dessler/Tony Almeida

Word Count: 2,173

Rating: R

Summary: Michelle is given a do over, does she take it?

Author's Notes: Spoilers for seasons 3-5. AU.

* * *

She told him that she didn't regret leaving CTU, and it was the truth. During the last 18 months, she hadn't once looked to their time apart, both when he was in prison and after, and wished that she could be in that place again for the sake of having that job – or any job, for that matter -back. Being with him – being happy with him – was more precious than any position in the world. She honestly felt no desire to set foot in the building that had both brought them together and ruined them with equal measure. 

But this case was special. Not because of their previous involvement – anyone could access their reports, like Tony had said - but because it was him. Without David Palmer, Tony would likely still be in prison, instead of stubbornly blocking her way out of the house. She owed Palmer, and the time had come to repay her debt. He deserved justice, and that was why she was going to CTU.

Tony's eyes were on her, but she didn't glance to the front window where she knew he was standing. She would lose her nerve if she did. She would turn around and go back inside, crawl into Tony's arms, and beg him to hold her until all the bad things in the world disappeared.

She had one foot in the car already when she realized that Tony was right; if CTU really needed them, really really needed them, they would call. All she needed, though, was Tony. They had paid their due; not even Palmer would fault them for moving on with their lives.

Just as quickly as she decided to leave, she chose to stay. She couldn't go back to CTU, especially not without Tony there to keep her sane, for her to draw strength from. Reaching for her bag, she slid from the car.

She was making the right choice, she really was. He left everything for her, twice in fact, this was the least she could do for him. She could let the past go for good. She could walk into her home, tell Tony how much she loved him, and drag him by the hand into their bedroom to prove it in ways her words never could. It would make them late for their meeting, but in a much more enjoyable way.

Gripping her bag, she slammed the door. Already looking back toward the house, she had no time to react before the world disappeared in a flash of crimson.

Thrown from her bed, Michelle Dessler heard herself screaming. Where was she? What was going on? Her throat burned and her face felt hot, as if she had been in the sun for days on end. What the hell happened? All she remembered was getting out of her car to go back inside to Tony.

"Tony?" she called, coughing as the effort strained her voice. She got silence in return.

"Tony?"

Nothing.

What the hell was going on? Where was Tony?

Fumbling with the covers, Michelle scrambled to her feet, staring around her bedroom in horror. She hadn't slept in this room in over two years. Not since before the divorce was finalized. Without Tony, she'd slept on the couch, in the guest room, even in her office, but never this bedroom. The night they got back together was the first time she'd slept in there in months. After that, they sold the house without a second thought, making a fresh start in a new home.

"Michelle, are you ready?"

Jack? What was Jack doing here? Jack was in hiding, Jack was in Mexico, Jack was somewhere safe. She and Tony had made sure of that.

"Michelle, we need to be there before ten. I know you're nervous, but we need to go soon."

Oh, God. She'd heard Jack use those words before. The day Tony was released from prison. What the hell was happening here?

"I'll be down in a second, Jack," she called, feeling her voice tremor. If Jack even noticed, he didn't say. He was probably used to her tears by now. She'd spent the better part of the time Tony was in jail in tears.

As she dressed, she didn't waste time looking in the mirror; she knew she looked like it had been months since she'd slept well – it had been, after all. Efficiently she swept her hair into a low ponytail, patting the top and back of her head to make sure that not too many curls were being unruly. She didn't bother with hairspray or styling gel; frankly, she didn't want to touch anything in the room; it was too strange to be back there again.

They rode in silence; Jack gave her space just like the last time, and she was grateful to not have to speak. What was there to say? She'd already lived this life once. She'd already been broken and had to put herself back together.

They stood exactly the same as they had before; Jack to her left, and the representative from President Palmer's administration to her right. They passed the time making the same small talk as before.

Then the doors opened and he was there. Just like before. But this time she could see everything – his sadness, his frustrations, his scars, and more importantly, his shame. In his eyes, in his expression, in his body language, she identified all of the conflicting emotions he'd confessed to after their reconciliation. She could see all the things he'd hidden from her, or she'd been too blind to see. If possible, she loved him even more.

The first time, she hadn't gone to him, having been paralyzed by fear and decorum. She'd waited for him to come to her. This time, she was unable to stop herself – she ran to him, flinging her arms and legs around him in a way that she'd never done before; not even in a dark hallway in CTU.

"I love you, Tony, and I'm so grateful I'm here," she assured him, remembering the night when he'd confessed that these were the words he'd probably needed most upon getting out – words she'd failed to say.

She felt his arms close around her, felt one of his hands delve into her curls, felt his face press into the hollow of her throat. Her hands gripped his back, breathing him in and sighing with contentment at his familiar Tony smell.

"I love you," she whispered over and over. "I love you so much."

Finally, Tony responded in kind, just barely raising his face from her skin, before repeating her name as if he could hardly believe she was there. Smiling tearfully, she pulled away just far enough to drag his mouth to meet hers.

The rest of their reunion was silent, but not in the same way it was before, and when Tony's grip slackened, her feet settled back on the ground, and he relinquished his claim on her mouth, she knew that it would be okay. Unlike last time, she didn't let him go when he went to shake Jack's hand, or when he thanked Wayne Palmer quietly. She didn't care about being professional, or about what either of the men watching was thinking. Tony had gone to prison for her, she would stand by him now. In ways she hadn't before; she'd left him once, and she wouldn't go through that again.

"Tony?" she asked in the still of their bedroom. He shifted beside her, tugging her close with the arm he'd slung around her waist when he collapsed, spent emotionally and physically. She wasn't faring much better, she knew, as her fingertips ran up and down his arm just to remind herself that he hadn't pulled away.

"Mmm?" He nuzzled her ear, snuffling sleepily against her skin.

"I'm not going back to work. I can't be there anymore. I can't work in a place that's willing to crucify you for saving my life, but give me a raise and a corner office." She remembered him shouting those same words at her the first time around, and only now realized how true they'd been.

Tony's grip tightened, indicating that he'd had those opinions all along, not just after the frustration had set in.

"Okay." He kissed the flat of her ear. "What're you gonna do instead?"

She squirmed in his embrace, rolling onto her side and taking his cheeks between her palms.

"It doesn't matter as long as you're with me."

He kissed her slowly, running his tongue along her lower lip. "I'm with you, sweetheart." He kissed her again, sealing the promise. "I doubt I'm going to have much luck with a job any time soon, so you could bum around all day at home with me."

"What if we went out on our own? Started a business. We've got the experience, we work well together – even if the only orders you follow from me are to take out the garbage and put the seat down – we'd never have to answer to anyone but each other –"

"I don't know, Michelle. Are you sure we're qualified?"

She nodded, brushing his cheek with her lips.

"I've been reviewing your qualifications quite closely, Mr. Almeida, and I definitely think you've got the particular skill set I'm looking for," she murmured teasingly.

"I haven't updated my resume lately, that wasn't even my best work," he answered back with a leer.

"Mmm, now I know I need to bring you on."

He pulled her body closer to him.

"Are you sure? It won't be easy, especially financially. It won't be that position at Langley."

Michelle kissed him. "That's okay. I didn't have a job there anyway."

Tony chuckled, conceding that point.

"I think we need to make a fresh start before anything else happens," she added quietly.

His thumb brushed her cheek. "What else could possibly happen?" he chuckled sarcastically.

She bit her lip - remembering almost five months of arguments, silences, and liquor, and then six months of emptiness - but his mouth swooped down, taking it away.

"Michelle?"

"It's nothing. It's silly and irrational, really."

"No more secrets, remember?"

She nodded, taking a deep breath before spilling the entire story; how she'd woken up remembering over two years of their lives that had apparently never happened, how it had devastated her when he got out of prison and was distant and cold, turning to a bottle at night instead of her. How she'd finally left, unable to take his bitterness and his silence when he was only in that position because he'd chosen her. She told him all about the time they'd lost before finding one another again. And finally she told him about David Palmer, their disagreement, and how she'd changed her mind about leaving to help, but never made it back inside apparently.

Tony's fingers wiped away her tears, tenderly kissing away their remnants.

"I'm sure it was just a dream, but we're gonna be okay, Michelle. I'm not gonna be that guy. He gave up, but I won't. I won't touch a drop; I'll stick with the job hunt. I never want you to think for a second that I regret my choice, because I don't and I never have."

Michelle sucked in a breath, fighting tears again. Her hand slid through the short hairs at the back of her husband's neck, tugging his face close to hers.

"Dream or not, you were so unhappy, Tony. But when we started the company, you were in your element. I just want to skip to that part."

He nodded. "Okay then. Let's do it."

"Are you sure?"

Tony kissed her nose. "Yeah, I'm sure. Anything you want, Michelle."

Simultaneously, they pulled each other closer.

"Can I ask for something else so soon?"

"Whatever it is, okay," he agreed, kissing his way down her neck to suckle gently on her shoulder. His thumb brushed the small of her back and he used his hand to pull her bottom closer before his palm cupped the back of her thigh.

"I'm glad."

"What'd I just agree to?"

"Having a baby. Not immediately, if you don't want, but soon."

"You read my mind, sweetheart," he muttered, tugging her leg over his hip, opening her to him and sliding home in one smooth motion.

"I did?" She shouldn't have been surprised; part of the reason they'd been looking to move to Langley was because the positions were better suited toward raising a family than their jobs at CTU. Before all this happened, they'd been making plans, assuring each other that having a baby, even if they were still at CTU, would ultimately be a blessing.

"Yeah, baby."

"I love you," she gasped, clawing at his back and bringing him closer.

He grinned into her neck. As if he hadn't been able to guess from the way she'd clung to him all afternoon. He pulled her closer, settling their bodies into their familiar, wonderful rhythm.

"Love you, too."

END.


End file.
